Legend of Prétear
by Kirei Blossom
Summary: The complete story of Takako as Pretear.


Yay!  My first Pretear fic!  This is so exciting  ^_^  *waves to anyone who might remember her from Yue's Media*  I love Pretear so much, and while going through one of my Pretear marathons, I came up with a lot of ideas as to what might've happened before.  So here is the Prequel to the anime.  Enjoy!

Legend of Prétear 

**Prologue**

**~*~ By Kirei Blossom**

Disclaimer:  I don't own Pretear or any of the characters.  Infact, I don't even know who DOES own it.  Hmm.. that's sad.  -_-;

~*~*~*~

Darkness spreads… 

_Darkness spreads from jealousy and greed_

_Overwhelming the collective power of the Seven_

_A darkness that takes life for its own_

_And readies the world for perpetual doom._

~*~*~*~

A dark, lonesome night had fallen in the area of Houjoushiki.  The cold chill that wrapped the streets with light fog in these early Spring nights kept the people inside their homes, warm and cozy – leaving the roads almost deserted.  The pale crescent moon sailed softly among the shreds of clouds, casting shadows upon the ground.  

Somewhere near the outskirts of town, a gate creaked shut.  It was a child of about seven, accompanied with a small puppy.  Clutching the dog's leash tightly in his hand, the boy hugged his coat closer to him and walked down the street, grumbling along the way.  "It's all your fault, Inushi!  First you wouldn't wake up from your nap to take your walk when you were supposed to.. and now when you wake up in the late evening, Mama makes me go outside in this cold.  You're a very naughty puppy, you know that?"

Inushi, with his tongue lolling out, simply wagged its tail.  

The boy sighed.  "Well, you seem satisfied.  How can you be so happy in this cold?" He shivered slightly and kept walking.  "It's so quiet right now.. My voice makes me feel like I'm shouting." The next second, the boy nearly jumped out of his skin as his puppy gave a sharp bark, breaking the quiet serenity.  Inushi tugged at the leash harder, evidently wanting to escape.  

"Don't do that, Inushi!" He scolded, trying to take a better hold on the leash.  The puppy was trying to break free, barking at something and pulling with all its might to run away.  "Inushi, stop."  But it was no good.  With a sharp tug, Inushi pulled the leash right out of its master's hands and ran full-speed down the street, barking, the leash trailing lifelessly behind him.

"Wait, come back!" Panicking, he chased after his puppy.  The dog led him down the street and turned into a side lane.  With his red cheeks puffing from the cold, the child turned the corner just in time to see the flick of the leash pass under a high stone archway.  

Reaching the arch, the child skidded to a stop.  He looked up at the high column of stone, a few Kanji characters visible in the faded moonlight.  Inwardly he groaned as he stared down a dark stone pathway lined with trees and the large dark shape of an empty structure ahead.  It was the old Shinto Shrine.  A year ago the moon shrine had been relocated to somewhere else in town and this building had been left abandoned.  None of his friends dared enter it – there were rumors that it was haunted.  

"I-Inushi… please come back outside from there." The child pleaded helplessly trying to locate his puppy.  "I'm not allowed inside.  Mama will kill me."  Inushi's barks floated back to him.  It seemed like it was barking at something behind the temple.  Seeing no other way, the child entered the shrine.  He quickly crossed the pathway at a run and as he passed the ghostly black structure of the shrine, he tried not to look at it.  "Inushi…" he called softly when he came behind the shrine.  There was his puppy.  But it wasn't barking at a person, as the child had thought.. it was barking at a tree.  One of the largest trees out of all the ones planted in the shrine vicinity.  

As the child came closer, he gasped.  That was the Sacred Tree of the Shrine.  And Inushi was barking nonstop at it.  "Inushi, now that's enough.  We're going home."  He picked up the puppy (who surprisedly quieted down) and gazed at the tree.  He had visited the shrine a few times when he was little and he remembered this tree.  It was a beautiful tree, full of flowers and golden leaves.  But right now, it didn't look anywhere close to beautiful.  There were no flowers to speak of, and the leaves were dull and grayish.  The bark looked very rough and almost black.  And.. what were those things on it?  Taking a hesitant step forward, the child realized what it was and quickly jumped back with a gasp of horror.  There were hundreds of insects crawling on it.  "W-what happened to the Sacred Tree?"  Feeling scared and slightly sick, the boy stepped back.  The tree made him shudder.  Its ghostly leaves were rustling, yet there wasn't any wind.  Looking around, the boy noticed that the ground around the tree was black too and the few potted plants usually kept around it were dead, their flowers drooped and wilting.  

"L-lets go back."  Hugging Inushi closer to him, the child turned.. and tripped over a tree root.  Catching himself in time, he stared.  There hadn't been any root there a second ago.  Backing away, breathing heavily, he eyed it cautiously.  The root lay innocently on the ground, protruding from a patch of soft mud.  But was it his imagination, or did it seem like the whole tree was watching him?  The entire branches seemed to be bending over him, trying to get a good look at what was standing next to it.  The next second, the child thought he was going to have a heart attack.  Without warning, the leaves on the trees began to wave furiously, the branches creaked and the tree root rose a couple feet above the ground and shot straight at him.  Rooted with fear he was only able to give a cry before he closed his eyes tightly, hugging Inushi close to him, waiting for the root to pierce him.  

A split second before the root struck him, the child felt a pair of strong arms lift him and get him out of harm's way.  

"Are you okay?" a voice asked, setting him down safely.  

"Y-yes." The child opened his eyes and looked at the person who had rescued him.  He was a tall, striking figure.  Long blonde hair fell onto his shoulders and his green eyes were the kindest eyes the child had ever seen in his life.  For a moment he wondered why he hadn't heard the stranger come up to him.  It was like he had appeared out of thin air.    

The stranger smiled.  "You should run home now.  It isn't safe for little kids to be out at night."  

"W-what happened?" The boy turned and looked behind him at the tree.  The root had fallen back on the ground again, right where he had been standing a moment ago.  It looked like the root wasn't able to stretch out any further, that's why it didn't attack again.  "Why did the Sacred Tree attack me?"

"I don't know." The stranger replied.  "Now, go.  It's not safe for you here."

The child didn't need telling twice.  Clutching Inushi to himself, he ran out of the shrine, secretly swearing never to come anywhere near this place again. 

The stranger approached the Sacred Tree.  As he did so, the root rose up again and threatened to strike.  The stranger's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the lifeless ground all about the tree, and yet the more than lively tree itself.  

"Reshelles." The stranger said with a wave of his hand.  (A/N: Stranger? ^_^)  As though by magic, the potted flowers started coming back to life, their resplendent hues restored to them, their soft delicate petals shining with dew, and their leaves looking fresher than ever.  

The root waving in the air paused for a second, confused by this sudden surge of life next to it and then plunged its tip into the soil of one of the nearest pots.  The plant drooped and instantly started to die.  Taken aback at this strange behavior of the tree, Shin sent out a tangle of vines at the root, pulling it back from the pot and binding it tightly.  Edging closer to the treetrunk, Shin placed his hand over the black trunk, avoiding the insects crawling over it, feeling the spirit inside it.  All he could perceive was darkness and shadow, radiating outwards from the very core of the tree's heart.    

"Sacred Tree of the shrine, why are you stealing Leafé not belonging to you?" he called out to the tree's heart.  

In answer, the tree merely started swaying madly, branches waving and creaking, leaves whispering with fury.  It didn't like being tied up like this.  Three or four more roots protruded out of the ground, aiming in different directions towards the renewed potted plants shining with life and towards Shin.  However within seconds, they were twisting vainly on the ground, tied up in vines.  Now the tree was very angry and it started lashing its branches down at the intruder.  Leaping aside to safety, Shin commanded more vines to bind the tree trunk and branches, freezing its movement.  Yet the tree still struggled, breaking free of some of the creepers.  Infact, by the way it twisted and turned with wrath, it looked as though the entire sacred tree might break free of its roots.    

"Sasame," Shin spoke to the air.  "I found it.  Get the others to the old Shinto Shrine."

Within seconds, six figures materialized on the spot, worry on all of their faces.  Quickly they took in the struggling tree, bound completely with vines – though how long the vines would hold out was uncertain.

"So that's the tremendous fluctuation of Leafé we were feeling." Hayate exclaimed, leaping aside as a branch nearly crushed him with a sudden thrust.  

Gou frowned.  "What the hell is wrong with this tree?"  In return, he sent out a fireball which scorched one of the branches; the tree reacted as if it didn't even feel the fire.  Seeing more people around it, all giving out an aura of life, the tree had lost all control, wishing to just somehow take this life away from them.  Filled with new strength and determination, it pulled on the vines binding it with raging resentment.  

"It's completely lost its mind, that's what." Mannen answered, freezing three roots at once that had snaked out of the ground around his foot.  "What should we do, just attack it together?  It's surely gonna tear those vines if we don't do something soon."  

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the tree quieted down.  The seven knights looked at it, confused.  

"Do you think it's tired out?" Hajime questioned doubtfully, landing back on the ground after spraying the trunk with a broad jet of water.

Sasame furrowed his brow.  "It doesn't seem that way, somehow—"  

"What?!" Kei gasped.  The fresh, green vines tying the tree were turning brown and slowly losing their color.  

"Shimatta!  It's sucking the Leafé out of the vines!" Shin shouted.  

Sure enough, the vines around the tree were slowly turning lifeless and black and soundlessly fell to the ground.  Glad to be rid of that nuisance, the branches and roots stretched and expanded free from their captivity.  

"Now!  Attack it together!"  

At once, all seven knights went into action.  Surrounding the tree, they aimed their elemental power at it from all directions.  A furious roar filled the shrine as the tree writhed under the combined power of wind, sound, fire, water, ice, light and plant.  But the tree wouldn't be subdued without a fight.  It kicked out its branches and roots, showered black shadowy leaves, and shot thorns and needles from its bark at the knights.

"This is no use!" Hayate shouted, aiming a gust of wind at an oncoming branch.  No use, indeed.  The wind only slowed the process of the branch and the next second the Knight of Wind was knocked down to the ground.  Fingering a cut on his forehead, from which blood trickled out, Hayate cursed.  From another side, Sasame sent powerful sound waves at the tree; but these also merely bounced back off the bark.  He too was flung to the ground and pinned by a root.  The remaining knights were meeting with the same treatment and soon all of them were struggling to get up to their feet, covered with dust, blood trickling out of their wounds and injuries.  The Sacred Tree continued to wave around like an ominous giant.  

"We need to do something else." Hajime suggested through clenched teeth.  "This new Enemy is unbelievably tough to beat."   

Panting for breath, Sasame glanced around.  "Lets try collecting our powers and then hitting the tree with it."

Nodding, all the knights held up their right hands – a beam of their respective elemental power shot out of their palm, and as seven beams met with each other, they formed into an opaline white orb of power.  The white orb hovered for a second and then shot at the tree with a forceful crash, sending leaves and small pieces of bark and wood flying everywhere.  The scene covered with smoke.  

The smoke slowly cleared.  "Did it work?" Gou asked, hoping that it had.  The last wisps of smoke evaporated, revealing the tree.  It stood tall, proud, yet completely quiet.  The bark in the middle of the trunk was completed dented and bent inwards.  Black vapor was flowing out of it.  

Wiping the sweat off his brows, Mannen grinned, turning to the others.  "Well, looks like it did.  We did good work together—" 

All the knights smiled.  They were hurt and tired, but they had succeeded in suppressing the tree from stealing more life from its surrounding environment.   

"No! It didn't work!" Hayate suddenly exclaimed.  Whipping around, all the knights' eyes widened in horror.  The black vapor was now pouring out from the dent of the trunk, and a chill filled all of them as they looked at it.  It was hard to pinpoint why that was so, but each knight felt in their hearts a new menacing evil brimming out of the wounded tree.  All at once, with a heartstopping bellow, out of the cavity in the tree emerged a shadowy brownish-black form – a form vaguely in the shape of a human face.  Large, hollow sockets lined the place where eyes would've been and underneath these were two slit-like nostrils.  A wide, gaping mouth, forever open was stretched wide and covered the entire lower part of the frightening evil form.  This strange spirit was lined and gnarled, similar to the Sacred Tree bark.

"What's that?" Hajime gasped.

"The spirit, or heart, of the Sacred Tree." Shin answered, his brows quivering.  The ground beneath his feet started to tremble.  

//BOOM!//

All the knights flew backwards from the earsplitting explosion as the Sacred Tree cracked and exploded, disintegrating into pieces, its spirit breaking free at last from inside its shell.  A thick, grayish black smoke covered the entire shrine.  Shielding their stinging eyes, the knights felt a piercing cold strike their hearts and engulf them as they felt the cold shiver of the tree spirit pass high over them, brushing its icy waves of gloom against them.  They heard a wind whispering in their ears, threatening them in a menacing voice.  "At last, I am free as I was meant to.  At last, I shall get my revenge on the world for binding me.  Now… darkness shall spread."

~*~*~*~

Leafénia… 

"Did you find anything, Sasame, Kei?" Hayate asked, returning to Leafénia from the outer realm.  He noted warily that in all directions, Leafénia was overflowing with life and peacefulness; a sharp contrast to what they'd experienced just a few hours ago in the outside world.

"No, nothing at all." Kei replied.  "Nothing that would let us find out about the enemy's whereabouts or movements."

"Have the others returned yet? Who knows, maybe they found something."

"Nope, not even a clue to our opponent's intentions." Gou answered, coming into the clearing with Hajime and Mannen.  All of them looked exhausted, having searched the entire city all night.  "There's some bad news though.  Twice we saw red snow falling from the sky; it disappeared soon as it made contact with anything.  And we found a mayouchuu in the park.  Luckily it hadn't attached its root yet, so Shin just put it back to sleep and discarded it."

"A mayouchuu, huh?" Hayate looked down.  "So things are getting that serious."

Mannen nodded.  "Yeah.  We looked around if there might be any more, but so far no luck.  Maybe that's a good thing."

"I don't know." Sasame said.  "We should assume that if there's one mayouchuu there certainly will be others.  But as long as they haven't taken their real form, we're safe.  Shin can destroy these easily, but not if they attach their roots."

Hajime looked around at the knights.  "Where is Shin, by the way?  He was with us a while ago, then he left."

"Look up." A voice said from above.

They turned their heads upwards.  Shin was sitting easily on the branches of the tree nearest them, one hand on the tree's trunk.  He seemed to be concentrating on something, yet was still listening closely to the knights' conversation.

Mannen made a face.  "What are you doing up there?"

"It's strange." Shin replied.  "All the trees have been whispering the old legend today.. I decided to listen to what they were saying." His face was grave when he continued.  "It seems like the prophecy is taking form."  He jumped down to join the others.  "At least, it matches with what's been going on."

"You mean the one that starts with 'Darkness Spreads' or something?" Mannen asked in disbelief.  "But that is a darkness from jealousy and greed.."

"And so is this one." Shin looked thoughtfully at the deep periwinkle sky.  "When I found the Sacred Tree yesterday, I looked into its heart for just a moment.  The tree's heart has drastically changed from the good spirit it used to be.  All those years at the Shrine, the tree looked around it and noticed that only it had a power greater than the other trees.  It had feelings, and thoughts.  To its mind, it felt more similar to humans and animals than to trees.  Why should it not be able to move about as they do? Why was it planted firmly to the ground, like the lesser powerless trees?  Did it not deserve to be far more superior than these?  And since people coming to the shrine payed their reverence to it, did it not deserve to be even more superior than humans?  That's what had been going on in the tree's heart for so long – so long that it corrupted the spirit inside it, turning it into nothing but a shell for collecting Leafé, a Taiji.  'Darkness spreads from jealousy and greed..' A jealousy of all living things that are free to walk about on the Earth, and a greed for more life." Shin turned back to look at the others.  "It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Grimly, the knights exchanged glances.  This was one thing they feared.  A new Enemy had arisen, and according to the legend, it had woken to 'ready the world for perpetual doom.'  Who knew what new challenges, problems and obstacles they would have to face.

"Well then, there seems to be only one thing we can do, doesn't it?" Sasame asked, his silver hair fluttering about in the breeze.  "Go by what solution the prophecy has given."

Hayate nodded.  "I guess its time then to look for the One Heart – the princess Prétear; and for the Legend of Prétear to come to life."

~*~*~*~

Darkness spreads… 

_Yet the One Heart is revealed_

_Piercing through the blackness with the Radiance of Leafé_

_And shining brighter than the rest_

_Quenches the voracity to alleviate the dark._

~*~*~*~

A/N:  

Continued in Chapter 1: The Search for White Snow

^_^ I hoped you liked this much.  This was just the introduction, the real stuff starts now.  Trust me, the story will get better as it moves on.. Next chapter, watch out for the appearance of our heroine, Takako, and a few other new/not so new characters.  

Does this make any sense?  I hope it does.  The Prophecy might be a little weird, but I tried hard to get it to work.  Oooh, this is my first semi-action ficcie, so it may not be that good.  I thought this part was quite weird and the dialogue was really choppy.  Tell me what you think.  

Just a reminder:  Mannen, Hajime and Shin are not the child knights from the anime.  They are the original Mannen, Hajime and Shin.  Just wanted to point that out.  So that's why they might seem a bit different from the anime.  Months ago, I saw a picture of these original knights somewhere.  And I instantly fell in love with the older Shin.  He is such a bishounen!  With long hair and his eyes…  Hanyaan, I wish I could find that picture again.  ^^;       

Anyway, minna.. review, please and give me your suggestions, thoughts and constructive criticism.  ^_^  Oh, and please if anyone knows what Takako's name means, please tell.  I'll really appreciate it.  Ja ne!


End file.
